The Swiss wealth manager is reportedly cutting rewards to U.S. brokers who don't produce as much as it would like them to.
UBS is rolling out a new payout «grid» for its U.S. brokers, which eliminates some deferred pay, trade publication «Advisor Hub» reported, citing an internal document. Specifically, U.S. brokerage chief Jason Chandler is scotching a net new asset award as well as consolidating bonus for seniority with UBS into its core payout grid.
The move is a bid to bolster profitability by emphasizing productivity in the U.S., which makes for the largest part of UBS' $3.2 trillion wealth unit, co-run by Iqbal Khan and Tom Naratil. The unit, the cornerstone of which is the Swiss bank's 2000 acquisition of Painewebber for $12 billion, is the linchpin of global wealth ambitions.
Alienating Newer Brokers?
UBS' new grid is likely to mean pay cuts or more deferrals for some of the bank's brokers, depending on their tenure, how much new business they had brought in and whether they are on a team, according to «Adviser Hub». By contrast, it may alienate some «high producing» brokers who are newer because it will more directly link pay to seniority, the publication reported.
Khan and Naratil are seeking to duplicate in the U.S. what UBS does in Asia, Latin America, or Switzerland: be and do everything to and for wealthy clans who command enough volume to merit the attention of investment bankers. Locking in this client segment globally, including the U.S., would lend credence to UBS’ ambitions to be a genuinely global wealth manager, as opposed to an international private bank with a sizable U.S. brokerage arm.
